Posted Feb 05, 2009
People gotta fight for what they love. Slack comes from within.
in What the hell happened?
user:
Jim Cowiename:
Jim Cowieabout me:
I'm a member of the Babbledog development team.
Recent Responses by Jim Cowie
in What the hell happened?
Posted Oct 01, 2008
freedom is a red hot ball of iron that you can neither swallow nor spit out
in Freedom of Speech
Posted Sep 30, 2008
I'm a big fan of Judy Blume. _Forever_ was a great novel.
in Grapes Of Wrath' And The Politics of Book Burning
Posted Sep 27, 2008
A bit of international politics. Seems like everything is about energy these days ..
in What's Happening in Bolivia & Venezuela
Posted Sep 24, 2008
Did you ever have one of those dreams where you wake up one day, and it's the day of the big final exam, and you haven't studied, and you forgot to drop the class, and so you go to take the exam anyway, and you don't know any of the answers, and ...
in McCain seeks to delay debate
Posted Sep 23, 2008
Thank goodness Whole Foods is now carrying this.
in Baby Nasal Aspirator - Nosefrida
Posted Sep 22, 2008
as one commenter said, "He was trying to use up his minutes."
in California Train Crash victim’s cell phone made numerous calls to Family after his death
Posted Sep 21, 2008
and, as is noted in the story and elsewhere, the legislation attempts to put its own powers beyond judicial review: "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."
in Financial Crisis Legislation May Give Government Veto Power over Management Decisions at Financial Institutions
Posted Sep 21, 2008
Very cool! You might consider creating a Babbledog cause for the WSPA! Then download a cause widget and put it on your web pages, to show that you support WSPA at Babbledog.
in World animal week 2008
Posted Sep 19, 2008
what a long, strange campaign it's been
in Members of the Dead to play fundraiser for Obama (AP)
Posted Sep 16, 2008
Pimco TR is one of those rock-solid funds that makes up double-digit shares of the retirement portfolios of a lot of people who are nearing retirement age. I hope the total exposure to AIG and similar "can't fail" corporate paper is relatively small.
in Conservative Bond Funds Watch Nervously As Credit Swap Spreads Widen
Posted Sep 15, 2008
wow, looks like a great read. should make us look a little more kindly upon the Demosthenes in our lives .. better to be reviled than forgotten!
in Review: Philip II of Macedonia by Ian Worthington
Posted Sep 14, 2008
Pretty spooky.
in "Beat The Clock" : Traders Race to Unwind Lehman Derivative Exposures, Prevent Global Financial Meltdown
Posted Sep 08, 2008
I had never heard of Fairhope, Alabama. The name is not an accident, apparently. The history is actually pretty interesting. This little place must have had 112 uninterrupted years of Angry Letters to the Editor and Worst Mayor in History and Time for a New Vision and the like.
in Tim Kant and Dean Mosher to face one another in Fairhope, Alabama runoff
Posted Sep 07, 2008
Interesting, citing Kurdish PKK as agents of Russia to close the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (as they did, in the week immediately preceding the Russian invasion of Georgia).
in Window on Eurasia: Moscow Wins a Major Victory on Pipelines
Posted Sep 07, 2008
Watching the press conference, what I'm struck by is the undertone of fear. I hear voices quivering as they work to get out the harsh words that the markets have to digest by tomorrow morning.
in US Treasury Nationalizes Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
Posted Aug 30, 2008
Bad timing for the Republican Convention. You can't reschedule a convention, and you can't reschedule a hurricane. This media disaster is predicted to strengthen rapidly in the warm waters of the blogosphere. Take shelter now -- if you can find any!
in Time To Evacuate New Orleans Again | Jeff Masters
Posted Aug 29, 2008
McCain seems to have made a choice based on pretty shallow, cynical considerations. Hint: it's not a sophisticated media strategy if the person on the street can tell they're being manipulated, and doesn't like it.
in Sarah Palin, Alaska's GILF - CafePress
Posted Aug 28, 2008
Wow, what a loss. I loved the Anthology when it came out -- it transformed my understanding of the Beatles, which I had thought was pretty complete up to that point. It's a great legacy.
in Beatles pay tribute to Beatles Anthology producer Chips Chipperfield
Posted Aug 26, 2008
Many people have noted: if you use a lot of coupons, you'll end up eating a lot of worthless food, since those are the kinds of mass market brands that put muscle behind coupon promotions. Coupons for organics and healthy food are pretty hard to come by.
in Thrift
Posted Aug 22, 2008
"Self-proclaimed "greatest prank evar" required 18 months, $390 million in prep work"
in Obama Names Rick Astley as Running Mate
Posted Aug 22, 2008
Yahoo! Buzz has really come out of nowhere and garnered an impressive mass audience, compared to the others mentioned
in Yahoo opens Digg rival to all publishers
Posted Aug 21, 2008
xavier: I agree with you totally: bullfighting is deeply offensive.
in Lithuanian basketball players or bull fighters…
Posted Aug 20, 2008
Looks like you're an accessory to thoughtcrime, citizen. Please step away from the keyboard and sit comfortably. Representatives of the state will be by shortly to begin your reeducation.
in MBTA Court Documents from the "Subway Hack"
Posted Aug 19, 2008
except for the painful landing-on-the-ground portion of the exercise
in Kite Surfing Tropical Storm Fay
Posted Aug 19, 2008
they may sit forever in the courts of boston .. they're the kids who never returned
in MIT student defends MBTA hacking research
Posted Aug 10, 2008
"Bla bla bla Georgia mumble Iran bla bla Nucular bla bla. It's miller time!"
in Cheeky George Bush works up a sweat getting to know the women's volleyball team
Posted Aug 08, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_PuAqRQLKA .. some fine, fine character acting by Morgan Freeman and Rita Moreno
in Electric Company typography
Posted Aug 07, 2008
now that I see the 'bus rage' advertising connection, I have to wonder whether this wasn't a viral PR buy gone wrong. or right, depending on your definition of brand engagement and awareness.
in Greyhound scraps ads after Canada bus beheading
Posted Aug 04, 2008
Interesting. Going by their positions during the primary, you'd think that picking Hillary would be a move toward the center (not as much as picking a pro-life VP, but ... :) ) But I think the risk of galvanizing the far right and reviving their enthusiasm for McCain would be too high a price to pay.
in Picking 'Genuinely Pro-Life' Running Mate Would Be 'Revolutionary Decision' By Obama, Opinion Piece Says
Posted Aug 01, 2008
This is exactly what I said when I established "breezy kilt thursdays" and nobody took me seriously.
in Shorts Crack the Code
Posted Jul 31, 2008
http://www.balmex.com .. no contest
in What's the best diaper rash cream if you have reeeeeaaally bad diaper rash?
Posted Jul 28, 2008
As has been noted elsewhere, WTF is this doing in the Style and Leisure section? C'mon, New York Times.
in Blogging’s Glass Ceiling - NYTimes.com
Posted Jul 28, 2008
It's still true, though, what the Rain Man said: "Quantas never crash."
in Qantas emergency landing could have been caused by spilled coffee
Posted Jul 27, 2008
Aaaaaand.... Google walks away. So frustrating!
in Google In Final Negotiations To Acquire Digg For “Around $200 Million”
Posted Jul 24, 2008
"Kobierowski was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he was put in the detoxification unit and sedated." SEDATED?! You have to ask if that was strictly necessary.
in RI cops arrest man with .491 blood alcohol level
Posted Jul 18, 2008
genius.
in Law Blog - WSJ.com : Covington Partner Demonstrates Treatment of Detainees
Posted Jul 14, 2008
is it just me, or does the trefoil CPF logo make anyone a little nervous? :) it seems like an inappropriate visual joke to be carrying through security
in Checkpoint friendly laptop bags will soon be a reality
Posted Jul 13, 2008
Tanned, rested, and ready! And better qualified than any body.
in Nixon's Head 4 President in 08
Posted Jul 10, 2008
A classic essay about fake money.
in Why the global financial system is about to collapse
Posted Jul 10, 2008
People watch golf on TV because people put golf on TV. If people put cockroach races on TV, people would watch that too. And they would wear teeny tiny nike swooshes on their carapaces.
in Woods will become world's first billionaire athlete by 2010
Posted Jul 10, 2008
Bloomberg does a better job than anyone at filtering and presenting this kind of news. I hope the recent shakeups in their news organization don't change that.
in Spying on the World's Largest Power Utility
Posted Jul 10, 2008
If you're into constitutional theory, this paper and the recent supreme court decision about habeas corpus rights at gitmo make good reading. Sovereignty is a slippery thing. Good thing we're not about building global empires any more!
in Eleven Months and a Hundred Yards Short of Citizenship
Posted Jul 09, 2008
2008 isn't over yet, but "Thriller" is still a safe choice ;)
in Geeky list time: Pick an album for every year you've been alive | The A.V. Club
Posted Jun 30, 2008
They clearly didn't get Frank Oz to reprise the voice of Yoda. That kills it for me, right there.
in "Star Wars: Clone Wars," trailer 2
Posted Jun 30, 2008
or stealing the dead themselves. or killing people while stealing from them. I think someone hasn't really worked out the full matrix of behaviors here.
in Economic Slump Leads to Resurgence of Grave Robbing
Posted Jun 30, 2008
Second runner-up in the "netflix alternative business plans" competition.
in Rent-a-Dildo.com - How It Works
Posted Jun 29, 2008
backstory: http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2008/06/moon-over-a-rui.html
in Wil Wheaton's Hawaii Vacation photos
Posted Jun 29, 2008
http://www.shedworking.co.uk/index.html
in Build your next home office in a shed
Posted Jun 27, 2008
I guess this is why so many great Canadian comedians have felt obliged to come south of the border to enjoy freedom of speech, eh? Also to make money and avoid freezing to death.
in Comic faces human rights hearing in B.C. after lesbian jokes
Posted Jun 27, 2008
the good news: you can live forever. the bad news: we all have to grow a really long beard.
in Aubrey de Grey: Why we age and how we can avoid it
Posted Jun 27, 2008
obama photographed wearing iconic white earbuds == "powerful brand synergy"
in Barack Obama and his iPod: Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen
Posted Jun 27, 2008
I love the idea that google's aggregate data is a more accurate guide to what the public believes and does than you can get by asking the public what it believes and does. The slippery slope toward a government panopticon just got a little more slippery.
in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Orgy : Sexual hypocrisy and the Internet.
Posted Jun 27, 2008
pretty trivial. the regime's engineers have a lot of experience building large concrete edifices :)
in N. Korea destroys nuclear reactor tower
Posted Jun 26, 2008
nice concept, not taken far enough. I'd like to see a book that comes with, say, a sampling of beverages to be enjoyed with each chapter. or maybe a collection of unusual hats. you would wear the appropriate hats as you worked your way through the book. readers would recognize each other on the street. "oh look, three more chapter sevens."
in Neal Stephenson's new book, Anathem, will come with a CD of music.
Posted Jun 24, 2008
"To keep the Nutraloaf test authentic, I mandated that my guests eat with their hands; plus, after sneaking in that taste of Illinois earlier in the day, I was worried someone might stab me if I let them use utensils." heh
in Taste-Testing Nutraloaf : The prison food that just might be unconstitutionally bad.
Posted Jun 23, 2008
Tragedy at the racetrack .. a sport that kills drivers nearly every year, and yet the drivers and fans keep coming back, for all the reasons that xViPiR cited when he posted this video.
in YouTube - Scott Kalitta Fatal Crash 6/21/08
Posted Jun 22, 2008
Cool! I love interactive fiction. It's sad when a literary form is completely dissed because it's not commercially viable.
in 1up.com's Top 5 Introductory Interactive Fiction Games
Posted Jun 21, 2008
in case you havent heard, the dot com industry is very hot right now and its only getting hotter in the future. also, its not like people are going to stop using the telephone, eh? everyone needs a telephone. it's safe as houses.
in Canadian court lets pension fund buy Bell Canada
Posted Jun 20, 2008
The Babbledog team would like some of these. Thanks in advance.
in Lollyphile: the best & most interesting candy in the world!
Posted Jun 20, 2008
Yahoo's imminent demise has become a true internet meme. This one just keeps getting louder.
in Yahoo Reorg Details
Posted Jun 19, 2008
corbou in lego .. ok, fine, whatever. you wanna impress me, i want to see Gaudi work executed in lego.
in LEGO replica of Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye
Posted Jun 18, 2008
watching movies with a font fondler is a terrible experience anyway. it's as if they have typographic tourette's. you're sitting through a quiet scene, and the camera pans across a document, and they snort and yell out "Caslon! CASLON!?"
in Mark Simonson notes that the period typography in the Indiana Jones...
Posted Jun 18, 2008
just elected to congress from maine. hasn't been there enough to learn bad habits.
in Why Obama should pick Hillary Clinton as veep
Posted Jun 17, 2008
just for symmetry
in bSocial Networks Market Lodge Create personalized online stores on social networks
Posted Jun 17, 2008
Seems like a lot of people went out and bought them a big ole television.
in Crazy ways people are spending their stimulus checks
Posted Jun 17, 2008
"A political party built around victimhood will stop at nothing to sabotage its chances of actually achieving its goals." --anon
in Delegate to Democrat Convention: I’m Voting for McCain!
Posted Jun 16, 2008
The miniature golf industry obviously failed to deliver enough lobbying dollars to avoid getting their very own line-item.
in Suggested changes for the Americans with Disabilities Act
Posted Jun 16, 2008
any PR firm who would take this idiot's money in an attempt to boost his visibility to McCain's search team should be taken out behind the barn and killed with a dull axe.
in Brownback: We Depend on Dads
Posted Jun 16, 2008
I got a really cool pair of shorts with a big pocket for my blackberry. My kids all donated blood plasma for six months to save up to buy them, so it counts as a thoughtful gesture. (No, they didn't. I'm joking.)
in What's the best thing to do for Dad on Father's Day?
Posted Jun 13, 2008
I love this press release! It's so authentic! And it makes me hungry!
in McDonald's(R) USA Gives Moms Unprecedented Access to Learn How Chicken McNuggets(R) Are Made
Posted Jun 12, 2008
At first, I thought the Democrat National Convention was being moved from Denver. Wow, thought I, that's change we can believe in! Still, pretty impressive demonstration of executive-leadership-not-washington-politics-as-usual meme-fu.
in Obama moves DNC operations to Chicago
Posted Jun 11, 2008
The grandfather of great american beers only manages to pull a 4% rating (out of 100%).
in Pabst Blue Ribbon [ratebeer.com]
Posted Jun 11, 2008
"As far as the power grid analogy, one of the “Cloud Customers” on the panel, Carolyn Lawson, Chief Information Officer for the California Public Utilities Commission, made a funny quip in her talk about how it might not be the most appropriate and convincing analogy given some of the recent history of California’s power grid." heh
in Enterprise Web 2.0 Conference
Posted Jun 09, 2008
tiny monkey says: ralph wiggum '08! he's younger than mccain, and he can beat obama by a nose.
in May Day Contest: Caption This Photo
Posted Jun 09, 2008
Kinda flat. And apparently the price of sugar and grease is going up.
in Krispy Kreme Doughnut Earnings: Whadya think?
Posted Jun 08, 2008
Neat. Resveratrol may work by draining the body of excess minerals like copper and calcium, triggering the genetic response. So you might be trading longer life for, say, brittle bones and impaired nerve regeneration. What to do!
in Red Wine Straight from Fountain of Youth
Posted Jun 07, 2008
For context, $1.4B is also the average market capitalization of the companies in the Russel 2000 index. Can I make it a little more concrete? Imagine blowing up every Krispy Kreme donut store in America. Six times. Ok, you're getting up towards $1.4B in damages. Please, nobody actually do that.
in B2 Stealth Bomber Crashes Video
Posted Jun 06, 2008
may the best $100 hamburger win!
in Death of the $100 Hamburger (by Jeremy Zawodny)
Posted Jun 06, 2008
"Charity shops are not being charitable nowadays: many are too choosy & turn down slightly soiled items.This is unacceptable & I have ceased to support them on that account."--ian cheese"
in spEak You’re bRanes
Posted Jun 05, 2008
Time to digg asylum's homage to revision3's nod to asylum's bacon pictures? Is the bubble over yet? Can I have some bacon?
in Asylum Gives Props to Rev3 Giving a Shout-Out to Asylum's Collection of Bacon Pictures
Posted Jun 05, 2008
Suddenly this becomes a really interesting experiment. If the Alexa numbers start to break Instapundit's way in the coming weeks, it'll almost certainly be an artifact of this recruitment.
in Left-right asymmetry in the online world?
Posted Jun 03, 2008
i blame it on global warming
in Penguins steal amazing victory from Detroit in triple overtime
Posted Jun 03, 2008
Unless your chocolate tastes exactly mirror those of the other people who share your household, you are still likely to find half-bitten maple cremes at the bottom of the box.
in Only Sheep Enjoy Whitman's Samplers
Posted Jun 03, 2008
Fifteen easy steps... sigh
in Your Privacy Is An Illusion: Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan private pics exposed by Yahoo hack
Posted Jun 02, 2008
The proof itself is kinda elegant. For a congressman :)
in President James Garfield's Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem
Posted Jun 01, 2008
All of the suggestions Earl gives are spot-on. Simple due diligence.
in Renesys Blog: Securing the Root
Posted Jun 01, 2008
She had ultrasounds at regular checkups, according to the article. Either they need a new (slightly less blind) ultrasonographer, or they need a less gullible news editorial staff. It's a small town, maybe they're the same guy!
in Miracle Baby
Posted May 30, 2008
My favorite of the rules is #8, designed to frustrate homeschoolers (who dominate the bee, obviously): "The speller must not bypass or circumvent normal school activity to study for spelling bees. The Scripps National Spelling Bee defines normal school activity as adherence to at least four courses of study other than language arts, spelling, Latin, Greek, vocabulary, and etymology for at least four hours per weekday for 34 of the 38 weeks between September 1, 2007, and May 24, 2008."
in Bettors Guide to the Spelling Bee
Posted May 29, 2008
It's called "regression to the mean," Tiger. Sorry 'bout that!
in Tiger Woods' Daughter a Bitter, Bitter Disappointment
Posted May 28, 2008
The money quote from this article is "I bet that workers in this industry are fairly mobile too."
in Would a Porn Tax Hurt Sales? - Freakonomics
Posted May 28, 2008
I love moon pies. Not the banana flavor, though. Chocolate.
in Guns don't Kill people, Moon Pies well they don't either.
Posted May 27, 2008
as in, a single, immense work of body art, so large that it exists across the bodies of tens of thousands of military men. multiple generations of british soldiers, each bearing a small piece of the complete work
in RoyalTournament.org
Posted May 23, 2008
"Anybody saying the rulers nay risks being tasered and gassed, beaten and jailed, demonized and prosecuted. Folks, that whole bunch in Minneapolis is not worth one Ron Paulian fingernail, let alone a busted skull. Watch the sickening festival on TV, unless you are a delegate or alternate. Even then, you have to be careful. Your enemies are fascists."
in Crashing the Party in Minneapolis
Posted May 22, 2008
the guy who came in second is claiming that he actually had the majority of the popular vote. the supreme court has been notified. this ain't over yet.
in David Cook wins American Idol
Posted May 21, 2008
Are you talking about the second dot com bubble? :)
in Facebook Is A Privacy Virus
Posted May 21, 2008
This is a nice narrative but I think HRC's triangulation side-step to the right (when she thought she was facing McCain in November) will make it hard for her to become the New Voice of Liberalism in the Senate. Stranger reinventions have happened .. this is America after all.
in Rex Nutting: Is Hillary Clinton the new Ted Kennedy?
Posted May 21, 2008
illegal interception of private communications by an agent of the state .. hmmmmmm ...
in If you're going to sell weed in high-school...
Posted May 21, 2008
"If you pick and choose which tenets of a religion apply to you, is it still a religion?" A universal question.
in A Jihad for Love: A Jihad for Love
Posted May 21, 2008
if his tongue has a point, it would actually be interesting.
in You Know What You Can Do With That Tongue? Make Some Art With It!
Posted May 19, 2008
Hey, you don't want to be the last kid on the block running his own copy of L root! :)
in Identity Theft Hits the Root Name Servers
Posted May 19, 2008
I didn't ask any other country's OK before I did it .. now that I know, I'll be sure to ask first. How rude of me
in Obama: An End to All-You-Can-Eat?
Posted May 18, 2008
don't they have ants in canada? seems like insects should be able to reduce most any size mammal to clean bones in a matter of days to months.
in Blue whale, buried since 1987, exhumed in eastern Canada for move to Vancouver museum
Posted May 16, 2008
It will be interesting to see how they develop the case. A lot of uncharted territory here, a lot of precedents to be set (for better or for worse).
in Mother indicted for MySpace hoax
Posted May 16, 2008
Look on the bright side: she didn't commit suicide.
in Spitzer Still Free, But Hooker Booker Faces 25 Years [Justice]
Posted May 16, 2008
Campaign staff line up to perform their own dental x-rays after Blue Cross premium check bounces
in Jay's Caption of the Week Contest
Posted May 16, 2008
It would be good for New Hampshire if these folks succeeded in rolling back Massachusett's income tax -- for one thing, many NH folks are driving south in order to make a living and end up paying it anyway. For another, Massachusetts would have to massively increase their sales taxes to compensate -- and we don't have one of those either. More money to our border stores. Finally, it would create a great attraction for high-wage people from all over to migrate to Greater Boston instead of, say, New York (the city so nice they tax you two or three times for the privilege of living there).
in Activists push to repeal Massachusetts state income tax
Posted May 16, 2008
This is intriguing, if true. By reciting the entire Quran, of course, you're going to recite this Surah, which is worth reciting a third of the Quran. Deep recursion.
in Reward of reciting Surah Ikhlaas 3 times equal to whole Quran?
Posted May 15, 2008
Everything old is new again! (McCain's campaign song)
in Huckabee reenters the race?!?!
Posted May 15, 2008
Truly amazing and inspiring demonstration of democratic principals. For a country recovering from a devastating cyclone, where hundreds of thousands of people are dead or missing, and the infrastructure wiped out, to achieve better than 99% voter participation is just literally incredible. You go, Burma!
in Myanmar new constitution ratified - People's Daily Online
Posted May 15, 2008
Just when people say the greatest days of our species are behind us .. someone proves him wrong.
in A Bra For Your Bum
Posted May 14, 2008
jessica: if you mix a shirley temple with a guinness, you are, in fact, approximating moxie.
in Meet NHPR's Brady Carlson during WebNOB, Tuesday (5/13), Jillian's in Manchester, 6-8 p
Posted May 13, 2008
oh oh oh it hurts. so painful.
in T Mobile: Listen To The Most Pointless Customer Service Call Ever
Posted May 13, 2008
However, she was eaten shortly after the camera crew left.
in West Virginia Voters Speak Out
Posted May 12, 2008
Can anyone doubt at this point that we love in a dictatorship!!? The terrorists have truly won.
in Florida Man Ticketed For Wearing Speedo On Beach
Posted May 10, 2008
After you sign the petition, you should also wear the sticker to show your support.
in Urgent Call for Action -- Tell the Bush Administration to Protect the Polar Bear
Posted May 10, 2008
Boston! Lilacs! Morris dancing! REFRESHMENTS! What's not to love.
in Arnold Arboretum - Lilac Sunday
Posted May 10, 2008
Stickers? Did someone say STICKERS?
in Suicide Cult Phase Reached By Clinton Campaign
Posted May 09, 2008
"As an aid to workers in Myanmar, Direct Relief International has released this KML file showing all of the Myanmar Ministry of Health facilities (over 700 sites) using data from the WHO 2002 Global Health Atlas survey. They used the spreadsheet mapper tool to make the collection."
in Many Visualizations of Myanmar Disaster for Google Earth
Posted May 09, 2008
Here's a great followup on this thread, noting how close he came, relative to the other polling. Score one for the methodology! http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/mp_20080507_8254.php
in Electoral Projections Done Right: North Carolina Prediction: Obama by Double Digits
Posted May 09, 2008
Google is also supporting this via Google Checkout, quick and easy: http://www.google.com/myanmarcyclone/
in Support UNICEF's Emergency Programs in Myanmar
Posted May 09, 2008
Some day soon, you'll get email from Chevrolet because your tire pressure is low on the driver's side rear. "Just trying to keep you safe, as a valued customer! Here's a $10 coupon for a rotation and inspection." Thanks OnStar.
in ELCO Chevrolet acquires Moore Automotive Cadillac franchise
Posted May 09, 2008
See also: http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080509/FRONTPAGE/805090316
in How do you fix a broken school district?
Posted May 09, 2008
I'm powerfully tempted to trigger Godwin's Law to end this thread.
in Meatless Like Me : Vegetarian Myths, Debunked
Posted May 08, 2008
"Sure, I can get you more interviews, but you have to stop referring to your ex-coworkers as 'flying monkeys.'"
in Come up with a caption!!
Posted May 07, 2008
"Howard Dean: (yelling and hitting the cage repeatedly) 'ELLO CAMPAIGN!!!!! Testing! Testing! Testing! Testing! This is your Three AM alarm call!"
in Look, matey, I know a dead campaign when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.
Posted May 07, 2008
that's just the moment at which the photos were taken, dude
in Best tattoo ever.
Posted May 07, 2008
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120995103004666569.html
in Dartmouth Prof Sues Students For Being Mean to Her
Posted May 06, 2008
she's vanished down the memory hole
in Salon Mothers Who Think | Different hero, different war
Posted May 06, 2008
I would have to dig out the mixer, which I never use. I don't have the musclepower to turn out good meringue without one, sadly.
in Meringues: Coconut Meringue Cake | Submitted By: Carol
Posted May 06, 2008
Laptops must be intelligence-gathering target number one. doesn't anyone out there know how to use encrypted filesystems?
in Interpol Confirms Authenticity Of Raul Reyes's Computer Files
Posted May 06, 2008
I plan to race through the streets of manchester, new hampshire yelling WOOOOOOO with dollar bills in my fists and falling out of my coat pockets, like in the cartoons
in Find Out The Date You'll Get Your Stimulus Refund
Posted May 06, 2008
¡sʞuɐɥʇ ˙sʎɐp ǝsǝɥʇ ɟo ǝuo uoıʇɐzılɐuoıʇɐuɹǝʇuı uɐılɐɹʇsnɐ oʇ ʇǝƃ oʇ ʇuɐǝɯ pɐɥ ı
in ˙uʍop ǝpısdn ʇxǝʇ ɹnoʎ dılɟ oʇ ǝʇıs looɔ ɐ sı ǝɹǝɥ
Posted May 05, 2008
Prepare for the beatification of Mister Splashypants, Stephen Colbert, and that kid who wants us to leave Brittney alone.
in Foreign Policy: The Top 100 Public Intellectuals
Posted May 05, 2008
this thread has been deleted. But there's more over here. And anyone who wants more can always click the box in their profile that says "I hereby agree that I am at least 18 years of age, and that I am willing to receive adult related content."
in NO PORN! -> Redtube.com hacked!
Posted May 05, 2008
http://thepage.time.com/2008/05/03/you-cant-make-this-up/
in Filly Eight Belles breaks down after 2nd-place Derby finish
Posted May 05, 2008
Yahoo! closed Friday at $28.67. Before Microsoft announced its initial interest, it was trading around $19. Ballmer's final offer was $33. Where do you think it closes today?
in Breaking: Microsoft Withdraws Yahoo Bid; Walks Away From Deal
Posted May 05, 2008
Say what you will, it's excellent positioning for HRC, and makes a good deal of sense as such. Economists have been on shakier and shakier ground in recent years. They have the misfortune to aspire to be scientists that practice their art on the evening news, in a domain that regular people hold near and dear. Their predictive powers are notoriously poor, because they're always constructing models to accurately model the past. And they only deliver bad news these days! Slapping the economists in the face is a low-risk strategy for putting daylight between yourself and the elitist chablis-sippers in a hurry.
in Clinton – Economic Reality is Elitist
Posted May 02, 2008
The makers of porn will have to be very careful to obscure the fact that the actors are drinking a Coke or driving a Mercedes. It would be terrible if the audience were inspired to drink a Coke, and thereby fooled into objectifying the people on screen in the "wrong way."
in Scandinavian split on sexist ads
Posted May 01, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLNLYL24qUA&feature=related at 2:25. god bless alton brown.
in Deep fried turkey troubles
Posted May 01, 2008
and so is john mccain, apparently. http://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2008/05/senate_mcain_is_absolutely_pos_1.html?ft=1
in Pammie USA
Posted May 01, 2008
I paid $4.05 in Greenwich, CT the other day.
in Gas at $5.00 in the U.S. - betting pool open
Posted Apr 30, 2008
On the other hand, some people are taking good advantage of that fact. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiq_xdooaSw
in How We're Wrecking Our Feet With Every Step We Take
Posted Apr 29, 2008
http://insureblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/finally-transparency-cash.html
in Patients Can Get $100 to Reveal Hospital Bills
Posted Apr 29, 2008
I would have to get some face-tightening plastic surgery before opening it up on the open road, lest my jowls flap and obstruct my vision (see the top gear video at the end of that story for a somewhat unsettling visual demonstration)
in Ariel Atom (want it want it want it)
Posted Apr 28, 2008
I paid $4 at the pump today, for the first time ever. It felt odd, remote. I remembered what it felt like so that I could tell the grandkids what it was like. I was wearing a blue sweater that day. It was raining.
in Good for You, Bad for the Economy
Posted Apr 26, 2008
er, I know it's kool-aide, but I want another cup.
in Gin, Television, and Social Surplus - Here Comes Everybody
Posted Apr 26, 2008
A little creative paperwork, and the workplace will absorb the worst of it.
in Downgrading guests to attendees
Posted Apr 26, 2008
I wonder what the oddsmakers in vegas are giving for this scenario. Intriguing!
in Should Obama drop out now to ensure a win in 2012?
Posted Apr 25, 2008
Any space junkies (like myself) in the Concord NH area shouldn't miss this one.
in Tonight at the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium
Posted Apr 25, 2008
I always go to these movies with a friend, to make sure someone turns my brain back on afterward.
in Bruce Willis is Shooting a Scifi Movie Right Now in Woburn...
Posted Apr 25, 2008
Time to take the cotton our of your ears, perhaps.
in Ballmer: You want XP, we'll keep XP
Posted Apr 23, 2008
reading this article made me wish for a modern-day sequel to "A Confederacy of Dunces." it reads like an excerpt.
in Drunk Darth Vader's Jedi assault
Posted Apr 23, 2008
so far so good it's playing out just as they predict in the video.
in How Hillary can still win
Posted Apr 23, 2008
Now I really feel like making up t-shirts that say "far-left, atheist, elite, pansy Godless snob fraud."
in Andrew Sullivan: Karl Rove Wins the Pennsylvania Primary
Posted Apr 23, 2008
all we know is the number of people who changed party. but the "republicans for hillary" explanation seems plausible as an explanation. so too, to some extent, would "independents for obama." so we can't be sure without better numbers.
in Competitive race in Pennsylvania - CNN.com
Posted Apr 22, 2008
ah, wonkette.
in Five Easy Steps To Predicting Pennsylvania [Pennsylvania Analysis]
Posted Apr 22, 2008
the results won'y be in for .. well, for hours. when do the polls close? 7pm?
in Pennsylvania Registered Dems: By The Numbers
Posted Apr 20, 2008
interesting. anyone else sense this? I guess you don't ask a columnist or PR person what the "right" level of buzz should be. Perhaps the previous level was, in fact, "too much?"
in John Dvorak's Second Opinion: Tech-sector buzz goes silent
Posted Apr 20, 2008
iceberg's descendants hail new discovery; ancestor "completely vindicated"in sinking mystery
in Titanic was a riveting disaster
Posted Apr 20, 2008
wow, wonder who's rolling up sleeper cells
in Man found in Lady Bird Lake was teacher, FBI target
Posted Apr 18, 2008
there's a connection here to the man who had a knife in his back and didn't know it, but I can't figure out what it is
in Robert Reich's Blog
Posted Apr 18, 2008
that may have been what caused the earthquake? http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D904CC980&show_article=1
in That's it! - Economist decides to stop covering Clinton campaign.
Posted Apr 18, 2008
I know, taking the bus is miserable.
in you know, i think you've got a knife in your back.
Posted Apr 18, 2008
fake confirmed by the Yale Office of Public Affairs. http://www.yale.edu/opa
in Senior Project: "I better get an A, is all I'm saying"
Posted Apr 16, 2008
Interesting perspective collision here. Government suit-and-tie intellectuals construct policy targets and add rules to auction to try to bring about the intended results. Google sees the wink-wink, nudge-nudge that's been built into the system, identifies the minimally painful way to exploit the backdoor left by policy wonks, exploits it for the greater good, walks away happy. All happy? Maybe. Someone out there might have paid more (a lot more) and that lost money belongs to the taxpayers. By setting it free, maybe we all gain more than we lost. But then why have an auction at all?
in Google "gamed" spectrum auction? Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Posted Apr 16, 2008
this seems like a real grass-roots cause that people might consider supporting. I wonder what percentage of the electorate orders enough online to get angry about it...
in Tax-free Internet shopping days could be numbered
Posted Apr 16, 2008
overblown. pfft. you know, I know another man who started making zombie movies, and ended up changing the free world. that man's name .. is Nelson Mandela. And now you know ..... the rest ... of the story.
in "The greatest technology in the history of humanity is community."
Posted Apr 15, 2008
I plan to enjoy nutter butters while I can, since apparently I'm going to spend my golden years trapping squirrels and digging up all those root vegetables.
in Alternate sources of food: advice for dealing with a severe food crisis
Posted Apr 14, 2008
The only thing I thought was a little weird was when they offered to walk me through my New Hampshire tax return. Hm, says I. NH has no income tax. If I have to file some kind of weird consulting-income business enterprise tax return or something, I better find out now. So they walk me through the questionnaire, about 2 minutes, and sure enough, I don't have to file anything. But when I'm checking out, there's an extra $29.99 fee for my state return :) They did allow me to simply delete the charge before paying, but it seemed a little weird.
in Finished your taxes?
Posted Apr 14, 2008
Only fitting for two former Democrat presidents to deliver the bad news.
in Carter, Gore Set to Deliver Clinton “Coup de Grace”
Posted Apr 13, 2008
I guess it comes down to 'rudeness' -- the failure to answer tolerance with respect. Rudeness is a visible externality, a symptom of people who enjoy the freedom without consideration for others. By the time your parks are full of sex-in-the-bushes and hippies vomiting up mushrooms, the majority bourgeois with kids and strollers and picnics (guilty as charged) are going to rescind their offer of tolerance.I predict that this will reach a new equilibrium that respects public conservatism -- restricting advertisement and open sale, say, in favor of just-in-time delivery of all your favorite vices to your home for private consumption. The Internet means that we don't have to have public flesh- and hash-markets if we don't feel like tolerating the externalities.
in Is Amsterdam's wild-life going up in smoke and getting bagged for good?
Posted Apr 13, 2008
I, for one, hope that his case causes fatal and expensive crashes in the software of all the hospital administrators and insurance claims processors he comes in contact with during labor and delivery.
in Pregnant man from Oregon to appear on Oprah show
Posted Apr 12, 2008
three people have already told me that they had to do the 'mandingo' thing to get a babbledog invite. which is funny, cause we don't have an invite system.
in Is this level grind?
Posted Apr 11, 2008
"Jenna Schaal-O’Connor, a 20-year-old sophomore who is majoring in cognitive science and linguistics, said philosophy had other perks. She said she found many male philosophy majors interesting and sensitive."
in The life examined
Posted Apr 11, 2008
"glass shards" are missing from mouthfeel after intensive lobbying by boston-area brewers
in Beer Flavor Wheel
Posted Apr 11, 2008
for context about SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation), see also: http://www.thefirstamendment.org/antislappresourcecenter.html
in neurodiversity: write a blog, earn a subpoena
Posted Apr 10, 2008
get off the couch! not on the couch! Bad dog!
in "Why i deleted my twitter account"
Posted Apr 07, 2008
Well worth listening to. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Word-of-Mouth/29159200256
in Trendspotters
Posted Apr 07, 2008
there are lots of situations in the world where grid power is turned into thermal energy to keep things warm. it might as well do computational work on its way toward max entropy! if someone made clothing out of computational elements, I would wear it happily all winter.
in Diseconomies of Scale -- Condonet
Posted Apr 07, 2008
That's why I recommend Babbledog -- a patented, low-impact intellectual workout that exercises every major mental muscle group without the pain and lethal risks associated with other kinds of online activity. It changed my life! Use only as directed. Consult a physician before using this or any other participatory online community. Results not typical. Some participants have received an honorarium. Neither the FDA nor the FCC has evaluated these claims.
in In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop - New York Times
Posted Apr 06, 2008
There's an old saying: "Don't ask the barber if you need a haircut unless you want a haircut." We have an educational establishment that seeks to shed blame for its own massive failures, justify its bloated inefficiencies, and prop up its own "professional, scientific" self-image. No wonder all the kids end up coded.
in A New Trial of Motherhood: Keeping Up With the Diagnoses
Posted Apr 05, 2008
yeah. doesn't have to be that way -- cf Botswana as counterexample. http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4561&edition=2&ttl=20080406001313
in Navajo Nation likely to lose Internet service
Posted Apr 05, 2008
I was thinking, instead, of the time I wore my osama bin laden tshirt to the airport by mistake. boy, that was a wacky adventure!
in Exclusive: Chinese police kill eight after opening fire on monks and Tibet protesters - Times Online
Posted Apr 05, 2008
The lesson of the late-nineties dot-com bubble: it's ok to take short-term losses in order to build your brand. It pays in the long run, unless you get wiped out by the next generation of viral hotness that nobody had predicted.
in TaxProf Blog: Clinton Releases 2001-2006 Tax Returns
Posted Apr 05, 2008
finally, I think we're bringing this conversation to a deeper, more emotional place
in Marketers Use Hypnosis to Mine Deep Thoughts
Posted Apr 05, 2008
most people know that al gore is credited with inventing the internet. what most people do not realize is that bill clinton actually was the first to say "I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?"
in Bill Clinton Goes Crazy With Superdelegates Watching [Ha Ha, His Legacy Is Ruined]
Posted Apr 04, 2008
The smaller banks who lend into particular cities or neighborhoods are going to have to hold these loans on the balance sheet for quite a while -- if they sell them into a downturn, they risk fragging the rest of their loan portfolio (not only other mortgages, but other consumer loans and loans to businesses in the region). So they hold them. And hold them. If the next president decides we need to undertake a Nordic-style nationalization of the banks, the federal government will end up owning huge portfolios of nearly-worthless American housing stock. At that point, somebody better have the courage to get out the bulldozers and make some greenspace, or else prices aren't coming back for a long time.
in As owners default, lenders move in
Posted Apr 02, 2008
get the studded tires, take it out on the lake at the fishing derby
in Snowmobile inspired 3-wheel motorcycle with amazing handling.
Posted Apr 02, 2008
Me, I'm happy to sit at a desk and rearrange symbols for a living. I wouldn't be able to survive the level of stress inherent in this person's job.
in NY Emergency Medicine: A Day in the Life
Posted Apr 02, 2008
http://mistersnitch.blogspot.com/2008/04/avalanche-of-asset-writedowns.html
in Economist's View: Why Are People So Unhappy with the Economy?
Posted Apr 01, 2008
"That's a dog with attitude. He's edgy. He's 'in your face.' You've heard the expression 'let's get busy?' Well, this is a dog who gets 'biz-zay!' Consistently and thoroughly. We're talking about a totally outrageous paradigm."
in Love babbleDog? Want to become a fan? Now you can!
Posted Apr 01, 2008
the april fool's backstory would be "lenovo makes hostile takeover bid for ibm; usgov rattles sabers in response"
in Homeland Security bans IBM indefinitely from US Federal Contracts
Posted Mar 30, 2008
I suspect that Dirk Benedict cured my gout but I can't prove it.
in Mr T brought boy out of coma!
Posted Mar 30, 2008
...But they promised to buy carbon credits to offset the incredible waste, so I don't know what everybody's all het up about.
in Airline 'hires actors' to fill up planes, claim contract bonus
Posted Mar 30, 2008
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But please, no touching the happiness, or we'll have to ask you to leave.
in South Carolina: The Nanny State.
Posted Mar 29, 2008
As the world tilts away from broadcast media toward "social media" (people selecting the news for themselves and their friends), it's interesting to think about what it implies for terrorist messaging. Videos of planes crashing and people being beheaded are available on the internet today, but they don't spread virally. That suggests that people (sensibly) have a built-in reluctance to share the content that terrorists would most like to have published. Unless online culture takes a major turn towards desensitization and this stuff becomes "ok to share" .. I would guess that the media shift is very bad for terrorists in the long run. Dare we hope?
in Fitna (فتنة)
Posted Mar 29, 2008
neat!! we've gone to see the manchester version of this, in the verizon arena, and it's super-cool. kind of loud.
in Robotics conference in Boston Friday, 3/28, & Saturday, 3/29
Posted Mar 28, 2008
The Barlaam and Ioasaph legend was the closest thing you're going to find to a viral video in the 1100-1400CE timeperiod. It was immensely popular, and was translated into virtually every language on the continent and beyond (it was very popular in Iceland, for some reason). I love the story of this text, playing out over the millennia, mutating and adapting to local cultures and prejudices as it went.
in Few people realize that the Buddha has been revered as a Christian saint for over 1,000 years.
Posted Mar 28, 2008
Here's a perspective on the (excellent) Obama race speech that I haven't seen before.
in islamicate: Obama, Race, Religion, and Slavery
Posted Mar 28, 2008
And, lest we lose sight of what's important: he's a democrat superdelegate. I hear he's leaning Hillary!
in PR governor, four Philadelphians charged | Philadelphia Inquirer | 03/27/2008
Posted Mar 28, 2008
you're just trying to find a good story to which you can apply that 'tank girl' sticker, right?
in Alert: Nipple Rings a Danger at Airports
Posted Mar 26, 2008
not at all. in the future, the word "housewife" has become entirely decoupled from its origin as a form of gender-identification. today's housewives wear pants, have jobs, and grow beards.
in Life in the Future
Posted Mar 26, 2008
finally, a way to ensure that our internet memes survive the end of civilization
in Mankind's secrets kept in lunar ark
Posted Mar 26, 2008
'Personalization' has traditionally meant 'I set things up just the way I want it, and the machine delivers More Like That.' That's sterile and boring. I count on my circle of friends to shake me up a little bit sometimes. The new personal is interpersonal -- give me more of what my friends and I like. Give me the tools to amaze, entertain, shock, and disgust (by turns) my friends.
in Tom Curley, Associate Press CEO tells it like it is .. in 2004
Posted Mar 26, 2008
see, years of good living pay off.
in Chef Prudhomme takes a bullet, shrugs it off
Posted Mar 25, 2008
and rakes! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rake's_Progress
in the myth of buying local?
Posted Mar 25, 2008
Getting caught in an exaggeration of your foreign-policy experience: painful. Getting called out by actor/entertainer Sinbad on your misstatement: priceless
in Hillary Clinton backtracks over 'misleading' Bosnia sniper story
Posted Mar 25, 2008
subtitle: "One Marketing Executive Per Child"
in Intel's Netbook revealed as FTEC SmartBook, mystery solved - Engadget
Posted Mar 25, 2008
(and yes, I remember this particular ell-pee with fondness)
in Klaatu barada nikto, dude!
Posted Mar 24, 2008
heh
in Four webcams and a funeral: Far-flung relatives pay £75 to see farewell service on the net
Posted Mar 24, 2008
the fans want dice-K to pitch nine innings. but they're more likely to give him three or four and pull him to save his delicate arm!
in Red Sox play Oakland A's in season opener in Japan on Tuesday
Posted Mar 24, 2008
his energies would be better spent convincing other people to complain on his behalf, in other words
in One man can make a difference! This one, for example, is responsible for more than 80% of the noise complaints to the Tampa Airport.
Posted Mar 24, 2008
I think he's praying to Crom, secretly.
in Buddhist dog prays for worldly desires
Posted Mar 24, 2008
Presumably that wasn't a primary policy goal, but it's a message nonetheless.
in In the Fed’s Cross Hairs: Exotic Game - New York Times
Posted Mar 23, 2008
...as if anyone needed a reason to mutilate a peep. Filthy little creatures!
in Easter Turducken: another reason to mutilate Peeps
Posted Mar 22, 2008
that was 2003. these days, like real college students, they skip the library and just plagiarize the wikipeepia
in More than candy, Peeps use libraries, too
Posted Mar 22, 2008
this is just a warmup for the LOLKoran, of course
in LOLCat Bible Translation Project
Posted Mar 21, 2008
A new chief transplant surgeon was packed in ice and sent by helicopter from Johns Hopkins, but arrived too late to save the venerable teaching hospital. Recruiters were able to harvest UPMC's remaining transplant surgeons, however, who were still in relatively good condition, and send them around the country to smaller, less famous institutions. "It's sad to see this happen to a hospital, but at least we can know that through its passing, we have extended new life to dozens of smaller institutions around the country, some of whom had been on the waiting list for years"
in UPMC names interim transplant chief - Pittsburgh Business Times:
Posted Mar 21, 2008
since the holidays are over, they have loads of inventory. if only i had the spare time ...
in $25 Head-Mounted Display
Posted Mar 21, 2008
kathy sierra would appreciate this
in The Creepy Ad Campaign for Stella Espresso Coffee
Posted Mar 21, 2008
see, this is where the 'evil right wing conspiracy' meme comes in useful. if any of these unnamed contractors or their unnamed employees show up in HRC donor lists, the nomination is sealed for Obama.
in Obama passport files violated; 2 workers at State fired; 1 rebuked - - The Washington Times
Posted Mar 20, 2008
tastes like chicken, is what I heard
in PHOTO IN THE NEWS: Colorful Harlequin Frog Discovered
Posted Mar 19, 2008
If you enjoyed reading this story, and suddenly feel an irresistable urge to own a Volkswagen Touareg, then the marketing money was well-spent. (Not on us, unfortunately.) Still a good article.
in What's the best way to become a stunt man these days?
Posted Mar 19, 2008
I just noticed that in the video, when she stuffs the Cheetos in his nose, there's a line of teeny tiny legal print at the bottom of the screen that reads (I believe) "Stunt double on controlled set." It's visible in the frame that I grabbed to illustrate this story, if you look closely.
in "Double Down"
Posted Mar 18, 2008
I love the Reg...
in Google's riches rely on ads, algorithms, and worldwide confusion
Posted Mar 18, 2008
wow, less than the expected point! there were some dissenters, preferring an even smaller cut
in Helicopter Ben prepares to shower silver on the people
Posted Mar 18, 2008
a good way for vegans to get some extra protein. laugh if you must, but when it becomes grocery-store cheap to grow meat from random cell lines, a lot of people will choose to become autophages for ethical reasons.
in "I have been asked to give blood for sausages, and I want to know if this is against regulations."
Posted Mar 18, 2008
there is no such movie, only a viral trailer
in Myth of 'Vagina Dentata' Becomes Horror Film
Posted Mar 17, 2008
there's some tenuous argument here about how, if the US goes into depression, the world follows, economic growth stops for ten years, and nobody buys oil, cutting off their livelihood at the knees. but yeah, it's mostly strongarm tactics at their finest
in UAE knuckles under, preserves dollar peg
Posted Mar 17, 2008
April 8th is the first meetup. I am trying to get facility and speaker lined up.
in Facebook | WebNOB (Web North Of Boston)
Posted Mar 17, 2008
I heard that they had stripped XP down to just the login screen and the blue screen of death in order to fit.
in This is The End My Friend: Negroponte Says XP on XO in 60 Days
Posted Mar 15, 2008
great article, great comments
in Bear Stearns exposed as a bank saddled with toxic sub-prime debt - Telegraph
Posted Mar 14, 2008
and http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aL.7.IvSVRTk
in Despite the Federal Reserve's efforts Wall Street fears a big US bank is in trouble
Posted Mar 14, 2008
I guess it takes all kinds of content to make up an internet. This story was flagged already, but traces of it are still showing up in the "What's Happening Right Now" wall to the left.
in Lesbians kiss deeply
Posted Mar 12, 2008
i think unsupervised probation is a euphemism for "living in idaho"
in "Gilligan, I baked you some brownies"
Posted Mar 11, 2008
(1) start rumor that jellyfish toxin arrests cell death, reverses aging in skin cells (2) start rumor that revlon is buying up aging fishing maryland fishing fleet, building jellyfish holding tanks (3) ... (4) extinction
in Jellyfish in the Chesapeake
Posted Mar 10, 2008
"So, I understand you're launching in France tonight?" "Um, ... (awkward silence)" "Oh, sorry, I was supposed to prompt you for that."
in Journalist becomes the story at Mark Zuckerberg SXSWi keynote
Posted Mar 08, 2008
Well, as long as it broke through!
in Stalkerish Buzz-Building Effort Gets an F - Advertising Age
Posted Mar 07, 2008
http://www.aolcdn.com/aolmovies/pans-labyrinth-433
in Tactile Wand concept aims to aid the visually impaired
Posted Mar 06, 2008
er, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_machinery
in Turbine could generate electricity each time you flush
Posted Mar 06, 2008
To summarize: the risk of default on corporate debt is being wildly exaggerated, and we should all be buying big fistfuls of these underpriced gems. Either that, or the models are right, and we should all be stocking up on canned food and ammunition.
in What's going on with credit-default swap models?! Warning: math am hard
Posted Mar 06, 2008
.2314 .. and I haven't even had my coffee.
in Shoot sheep with darts--for science
Posted Mar 05, 2008
This is really well-crafted political message. Michelle Obama's role in this phase of the election process is unlike that of any previous candidate's wife. Direct echoes of 'stand by your man' and 'baking cookies' from 1996 ... with a twist. Of the knife.
in Michelle Obama's Speech at Women For Obama Luncheon
Posted Mar 04, 2008
I always assume that studies like this one are underwritten by the "Nutrition Research Council" of Battle Creek, Michigan.
in Teens Who Eat Breakfast Daily Eat Healthier Diets Than Those Who Skip Breakfast
Posted Mar 03, 2008
My take on this is the same as my take on the legality of torture -- leave them illegal. If the government believes that it will prevent a nuclear detonation, let them break the law and then show us the details. If they're right, and we believe them, the president will pardon them, no harm, no foul. But you have to really believe that it's that serious before you violate the laws of the land.
in Top Democrat Says FISA Deal Near - Political Machine
Posted Mar 03, 2008
the median price of a home in Dade County fell by fifteen percent in January alone, according to the paper there
in The Federal Reserve's rescue has failed - Telegraph
Posted Feb 29, 2008
...and then the marketing department stepped in. And that, my children, is where Chilean Sea Bass comes from.
in How The Muskrat Became A Fish
Posted Feb 29, 2008
but the free ride ended in 1987. what the archdiocese giveth, the archdiocese taketh away
in I eat Econo, or do I?
Posted Feb 29, 2008
a stack of frozen pigs, in fact, with a chainsaw propped next to it
in Bacon makes everything better
Posted Feb 27, 2008
yeah, I didn't even notice that Older Comments were available
in Bush-McCain McCaption Contest
Posted Feb 23, 2008
fine, three runways. what if they wake up one morning and there are four? ten? a thousand!?
in 3rd Runway to Appear in Sheremetyevo Airport
Posted Feb 22, 2008
I'm 110% certain that he was serious
in Concord Monitor - Only 1 in 4 proficient in math
Posted Feb 22, 2008
"I should take him along if Condi makes me go to Kosobo"
in Jay's Caption Contest
Posted Feb 22, 2008
If anyone out there is an OB specializing in high-order multiples, I suggest you head to LA to service this trend. It only gets better from here.
in J. Lo Has The Most Valuable Babies In All The Land [I Got You, Babe]
Posted Feb 22, 2008
timely. deadly. stinky. ok, not stinky, it's odorless.
in Winter Months Increase Radon Danger
Posted Feb 21, 2008
if we allow prepend, we will eventually wind up with 'postpend' as a synonym for append. stop the madness now.
in "Prepend"
Posted Feb 20, 2008
OMG so glad they closed this loophole
in No More Train Hijackings: Amtrak Gets 9/11 Security [Never Forget]
Posted Feb 20, 2008
it is interesting that obama had a larger margin of victory in his wisconsin primary, than mccain did in his (58% obama, 55% mccain).
in Obama and McCain score big wins in Wisconsin
Posted Feb 20, 2008
new pixie-R [tm] with microdose ritalin. an unbeatable combination
in PIXIE STICKS ARE AWESOME!
Posted Feb 20, 2008
otherwise they all have to compete head-to-head on things like "price" and "quality" ..
in Chrysler Plans Hybrid Unit
Posted Feb 19, 2008
yeah, I didn't mean to imply bias. Violent babies are funny, is all
in Just a Little Closer
Posted Feb 19, 2008
If you're a nation that can't take a joke, then this is what happens.
in Briton Dishonors Latvia; Is Prison Too Good?
Posted Feb 19, 2008
I suppose if the book is already written the risks are reduced significantly :)
in Books: Will Customers Pay-Per-Chapter?
Posted Feb 19, 2008
maybe the Suns will share some of the magic rejuvenation technology they bought from the aliens to use on Shaq.
in Will Schilling pitch this year and if so will he be a factor?
Posted Feb 19, 2008
er, it's just more "politics as usual" and "doing anything it takes to get elected"
in Democrats' fate in the hands of the super delegates
Posted Feb 18, 2008
He should have done this from the start -- he could have won New Hampshire too :)
in Clinton, Obama prepare for battle in Wisconsin (Reuters)
Posted Feb 18, 2008
That explains all the John Kerry Flipflops I've seen walking around on the streets of Managua.
in In Nicaragua, Pats Superbowl Win Celebrated
Posted Feb 18, 2008
You can support someone without endorsing them. You can even vote for them without endorsing them. It depends on the precise meanings of the words you choose, I suppose.
in Super Delegates Abandoning Hillary? [Switch Hitters]
Posted Feb 18, 2008
I think a solid victory in Ohio and Texas would virtually guarantee a superdelegate fight at the convention --- the more Obama runs with the momentum, the easier it will be for him to pick off the SDs whose home districts went for him.
in Faltering Hillary Clinton woos 'super-delegates'
Posted Feb 17, 2008
I like the idea that you're at risk of government-sponsored spying and interception and viruses when you go overseas. I hope our government is doing something about this threat!!!1!
in Blackberry risk overseas? What else is new?
Posted Feb 13, 2008
it's what's known in the business as a "schtick"
in Is Simon faking his audition ‘irritation’?
Posted Feb 13, 2008
Does anyone else have this? Mine arrived yesterday. I think it got wet in the mail because some parts of the display are hard to read.
in "Asdfas" personal calendar
Posted Feb 11, 2008
I just heard that Windows ME is dead. Now Java ME too?!
in Java ME Is Not Dead, Says Gosling
Posted Feb 08, 2008
Jon and I were friends in high school. I can't wait to see what he does after Newsweek :)
in Jon Meacham's Cri de Coeur: Why Do You Read The Economist Instead of Newsweek?
Posted Feb 08, 2008
scientific men were even more likely, as it turns out
in Half of UK men would swap sex for 50 inch TV - Yahoo! News
Posted Feb 08, 2008
This is the best new game concept I've heard in a long, long, long time. I want a "gurgitory athletic department" tshirt!
in Mastiff Taps Major League Eating License For Gurgitory Game
Posted Feb 07, 2008
I think each of them has some ungodly number of independent ignition systems, to make the chances of this happening acceptably remote
in Atlantis lifts off!
Posted Feb 06, 2008
republicans are looking forward to november, saying "please nominate hillary please oh please please pretty please"
in Obama wins most states, most delegates.
Posted Feb 06, 2008
warning: do not consume poi before using hawaii chair
in The Hawaii Chair: Hilarious Alternative to the Treadmill Desk [video]
Posted Feb 06, 2008
all I'm saying is, the people love them some American Idol.
in Clinton, Obama battle for Super Tuesday delegates
Posted Feb 06, 2008
whoever has a technology edge will do well in urban california, I guess. obama seemed to get a lot of traction with the google folks :)
in Best Super Tuesday Candidate for Technology?
Posted Feb 05, 2008
Google secretly hopes that merging two piles into one big pile will finally achieve a critical mass of Fail.
in Microsoft-Yahoo: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid, Google Says
Posted Feb 05, 2008
I tried this with an old 14" flat panel LCD. The results were horrible beyond description. I beg you, don't try this with your kittiez.
in Real life LOL cat? Make your own computer monitor cat bed
Posted Feb 04, 2008
this was, actually, one of the best commercials.
in Pepsi Pays Justin Timberlake Rumored $2 Million To Undergo Painful Sterlization During Super Bowl [Free Advertising Dept]
Posted Feb 01, 2008
they're going to rename it "Bob!" and a long-frustrated dream will be fulfilled
in M$ buying YHOO
Posted Jan 31, 2008
see? another half point today, markets go sideways. c'mon, helicopter ben! yer gonna have to do better than that! We want another half-point! I know you can do it! :-P
in I wish i didn't take this job
Posted Jan 30, 2008
Click through to the underlying story. Talk about a battle between rationality and irrationality.
in How to Get Hannah Montana Tickets (Freakonomics-style)
Posted Jan 29, 2008
mmmmm, shrimp
in Crazy idea for stopping rise of sea levels: pump water inland, bury it in dead aquifers
Posted Jan 22, 2008
todd: trendio was an interesting idea, marred by dubious statistics
in LIVE MARKET DISCUSSION: Tuesday, January 22
Posted Jan 22, 2008
businesses and households. Moreover, incoming information indicates a deepening of the housing contraction as well as some softening in labor markets."
in BREAKING: Fed slashes rates by 0.75% before New York market open
Posted Jan 19, 2008
I guess I don't understand what this implies about the balance of power between directors and writers in Hollywood. Do directors really have that much more leverage?
in Directors Guild, studios reach contract deal (Reuters)
Posted Jan 16, 2008
I am slowly coming to the realization that not everything you read on PRWeb has been rigorously factchecked.
in Holy Grail Mystery Math has Potential to Promote and Extend Life
Posted Jan 15, 2008
This is an authentic example of the "long tail" phenomenon in the job market.
in M & F Exotic Dancers(
Posted by Jim Cowie
Discuss
Bailout fails; market crashes | Bloomberg.com
The New York Stock Exchange fell silent as traders watched the Bush administration's $700 billion bank bailout voted down in the House of Representatives.
At the U.S. Global Investors Inc. trading floor in San Antonio, fund managers yelled at ...more
Posted Sep 29, 2008
Jim Cowie
Discuss
Sarah "Evita" Palin, the Muse of the Coming Police State | Huffington Post
"McCain doesn't matter. Reputable dermatologists are discussing the fact that in simply actuarial terms, John McCain has a virulent and life-threatening form of skin cancer. It is the elephant in the room, but we must discuss the health of the ...more
Posted Sep 29, 2008
Discuss
Check your Blackberry at the door
"Staffers for the principal negotiators of the Wall Street bailout bill were asked to turn over their BlackBerries Saturday afternoon so as to prevent leaks, as members of Congress and the Bush administration rolled up their sleeves to try to hammer ...more
Posted Sep 28, 2008
Discuss
Economists, Nobel Prize winners urge Congress not to rush bailout into law -- Bloomberg
In a letter yesterday to congressional leaders, 166 academic economists said they oppose Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan because it's a ``subsidy'' for business, it's ambiguous and it may have adverse market consequences in the long term. ...more
Posted Sep 26, 2008
Discuss
Don't drive iPhone developers away, Apple | MacWorld
The first issue with Apple’s filtering process is that it has frustrated developers by causing delays in getting apps up on the App Store. Developers can wait weeks after submitting a finished product or update before it’s rolled out to customers. ...more
Posted Sep 25, 2008
1 Response
McCain seeks to delay debate
Republican John McCain said Wednesday he is directing his staff to work with Democrat Barack Obama's campaign and the presidential debate commission to delay Friday's debate because of the economic crisis.
Posted Sep 24, 2008
2 Responses
Better -- Merlin Mann
What worries me are the consequences of a diet comprised mostly of fake-connectedness, makebelieve insight, and unedited first drafts of everything. I think it’s making us small. I know that whenever I become aware of it, I realize how small it can ...more
Posted Sep 24, 2008
2 Responses
Terror Attack on US Financials?
"The bear raids on the banks and brokers were NOT a case of piling on by US based hedge funds. And from what he was seeing and hearing about in terms of order flow, the vast majority of the financial short selling the past week or so were being done ...more
Posted Sep 24, 2008
Discuss
The Associated Press: Red Sox clinch playoff spot, eliminate Yankees
Once the much-maligned owners of an 86-year championship drought, the Red Sox have won two titles in the last four seasons and made the playoffs in five of the past six years. They have not won back-to-back World Series since 1915 and '16, but ...more
Posted Sep 24, 2008
2 Responses
Baby Nasal Aspirator - Nosefrida
Nosefrida is a doctor
recommended nasal
aspirator that removes
mucus from your child's
nose. It was invented in
Sweden by Ear, Nose and
Throat Specialists, and has
been used by Swedish
Moms and Dads for years.
Posted Sep 23, 2008
Discuss
The Bailout Will Kill the Dollar | AfterDowningStreet.org
The dollar is falling against all major currencies—the Euro, the Yen, the Renminbi and the British pound. And it will continue to fall as the details of the bailout come out.
This will add to already powerful pressures in countries like Saudi
...more
Posted Sep 23, 2008
1 Response
Bailout .. or FAIL out?
A demonstrator holds up a sign behind U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (L) and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke (R) during a hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee September 23, 2008 on Capitol Hill in ...more
Posted Sep 23, 2008
Discuss
US Government to secure mortgage market with gold reserves
"The U.S. Treasury Department has promised “hundreds of billions” to save the US markets using its own gold reserves.
"President Bush approved the use of existing authorities by Treasury secretary Hank Paulson to make available as necessary the
...more
Posted Sep 21, 2008
2 Responses
Financial Crisis Legislation May Give Government Veto Power over Management Decisions at Financial Institutions
Specifically, refer to section 3: "designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them."
Posted Sep 21, 2008
4 Responses
Army Ready to Enforce Martial Law in USA Starting October 1st
Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st Brigade Combat Team will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and ...more
Posted Sep 21, 2008
Discuss
Financial crisis: Default by the US government is no longer unthinkable - Telegraph
"Nothing better reflects the amount of fear among banks in America - banks everywhere - than the sky-high rates they're continuing to charge when lending to each other. Ordinarily, inter-bank (or Libor) interest rates are only slightly above base ...more
Posted Sep 21, 2008
2 Responses
Etihad Airways FAIL
What not to do when taking delivery of your new A380.
Posted Sep 21, 2008
1 Response
ALMOST ARMAGEDDON - New York Post
"The market was 500 trades away from Armageddon on Thursday, traders inside two large custodial banks tell The Post.
"Had the Treasury and Fed not quickly stepped into the fray that morning with a quick $105 billion injection of liquidity, the
...more
Posted Sep 21, 2008
Discuss
Bush/Paulson’s New Communist America Can’t Even Fix Housing Collapse | Wonkette
"Turns out we didn’t need “stealth socialist” Barack Obama to pervert capitalist America into a crumbling nationalized economy run in private by a dome-skulled kleptocracy as our nation’s battered military wastes away in the forgotten bummer of a ...more
Posted Sep 20, 2008
Discuss
Obama Urges Supporters to Stomp Home Message of Hope | Iowahawk
"Righty right, me malenky droogs," said Obama, nonchalantly spinning a steel baton while pacing the stage before a packed audience at a Las Vegas baseball stadium. "Come with uncle and hear all proper! Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones. You are ...more
Posted Sep 20, 2008
Discuss
Hedge funds' misery as FSA bans short-selling on 32 firms - The Independent
"The short-sellers accused of bringing the global banking industry to its knees have found themselves at the mercy of their victims. The unprecedented gains made by banking stocks left hedge funds with short positions facing large losses, as ...more
Posted Sep 20, 2008
Discuss
Pamela Anderson und "Er" | Der Spiegel
Pam, the Press, and the Plastic Man. They form one inexplicable triangle. I don't have anything else to add here.
Posted Sep 19, 2008
Discuss
National Industrial Recovery Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933, Ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195, formerly codified at 15 U.S.C. sec. 703, was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. It authorized the President to regulate ...more
Posted Sep 19, 2008
Discuss
Russian Bond Markets Seize Up | Bloomberg
"Russia's markets are facing the biggest test since the government defaulted in 1998. The decade-long economic boom is fading, foreign investors have pulled at least $35 billion from the nation's stocks and bonds since the five-day war in Georgia ...more
Posted Sep 17, 2008
Discuss
Panic Like It's 1907 - Forbes.com
"When you think of a bank panic, you imagine lines of anxious depositors, gaunt police officers trying to manage riotous crowds, chaotic exchanges and financial districts, cash being stuffed in the mattress or under the hearthstone, bankruptcies, ...more
Posted Sep 17, 2008
Discuss
LIBOR Doubles Overnight, Causing US Variable-Rate Mortgage Rates to Spike; May Drive Millions More Into Default | Bloomberg
"The biggest jump in the London interbank lending rate in seven years could wreak further havoc on the U.S. housing market and there's nothing the Federal Reserve can do about it."
"About 6 million U.S. mortgages, including almost all subprime
...more
Posted Sep 16, 2008
1 Response
Conservative Bond Funds Watch Nervously As Credit Swap Spreads Widen
Pimco Total Return Fund, which oversees $132 billion in assets, backed the bonds by selling credit default swaps to investors that pay off if AIG defaults, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month. The fund ...more
Posted Sep 16, 2008
4 Responses
Google search finds seafaring solution - Times Online
Google may take its battle for global domination to the high seas with the launch of its own “computer navy”.
The company is considering deploying the supercomputers necessary to operate its internet search engines on barges anchored up to seven
...more
Posted Sep 15, 2008
1 Response
"Beat The Clock" : Traders Race to Unwind Lehman Derivative Exposures, Prevent Global Financial Meltdown
The New York Mercantile Exchange opened a special energy trading session on Sunday due to increased trader interest about Hurricane Ike, which slammed into the Houston energy hub Saturday leaving a quarter of U.S. oil and refined fuel production ...more
Posted Sep 14, 2008
Discuss
BBC NEWS | Special Reports | Russia: Potential flashpoints
If Moscow has decided, contrary to its previous policy, that the right of national self-determination is to take precedence over maintaining the post-Cold War world's borders, Serbia and Georgia might not be the only two countries to see their ...more
Posted Sep 08, 2008
3 Responses
Patriots QB Brady hurt in opening win over Chiefs
"Brady, who has started 128 consecutive games, went to the turf clutching his left knee midway through the first quarter when he was hit in the pocket by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard. After being tended to on the field, he walked off, limping, ...more
Posted Sep 08, 2008
1 Response
Sarah Palin's style | Los Angeles Times
"Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has legs and she knows how to use them. [..] Which is not to say that style is a substitute for substance." Thanks, LA Times. Stay classy.
Posted Sep 08, 2008
1 Response
Window on Eurasia: Moscow Wins a Major Victory on Pipelines
'The geo-economic and geo-political shifts in the Caucasus as a result of Russian actions in Georgia were even more in evidence during US Vice President Dick Cheney’s brief visit to the Azerbaijani capital. According to Russian media reports, it did ...more
Posted Sep 07, 2008
2 Responses
US Treasury Nationalizes Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
"The Treasury plans to put Fannie and Freddie into a so- called conservatorship and pump capital into the companies, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said in an interview yesterday. The government would make periodic capital ...more
Posted Sep 07, 2008
Discuss
Apple event confirmed! - Engadget
"Looks like that Apple event for the Tuesday, the 9th of this month is on. We know it'll be new iPods (they always do iPods for the fall / holidays), but hopefully they'll have a little something special for us. Whatever, just as long as it's not ...more
Posted Sep 03, 2008
Discuss
Sun Makes History: First Spotless Month in a Century
The sun has reached a milestone not seen for nearly 100 years: an entire month has passed without a single visible sunspot being noted.
The event is significant as many climatologists now believe solar magnetic activity – which determines the number ...more
Posted Sep 02, 2008
1 Response
Hurricane Gustav Hits Louisiana's Internet
Very light impacts on internet routing from Gustav, compared to Katrina three years ago. No more than a dozen networks out in New Orleans, and a handful around the region. (Click the image for details, and read the ...more
Posted Sep 01, 2008
Discuss
Obama's Odyssey | Iowahawk
Who is this man, so bronzed in countenance,
So skilled of TelePropter, clean and articulate
whose ears like a stately urn's protrude?
So now, daughter of Zeus, tell us his story.
And just the Cliff Notes if you don't
Posted Aug 30, 2008
2 Responses
Time To Evacuate New Orleans Again | Jeff Masters
"Don't test those Category 3 rated--but untested--levees. Conventional pre-Katrina wisdom suggested that the city needed 72 hours to evacuate. With the population about half of the pre-Katrina population, that lead time is about 60 hours. With Gustav ...more
Posted Aug 30, 2008
Discuss
Computers and the Law prof. Robert Dunne dead at 59 | Yale Daily News
Among Yale’s most heavily enrolled courses in recent history, “Computers and the Law” invited all students, especially those with no experience in either field, to read dozens of court cases, from Connecticut’s legal battle against Web site The ...more
Posted Aug 29, 2008
1 Response
Artists Vs. iTunes: Fight For Your Right To Suck! | Gawker
"Is iTunes helping the music industry—or destroying it? That's the dramatic question we will answer for you in this post. Itunes is the single largest retailer of music in the US, period. It sells nine out of every ten digital song downloads in the ...more
Posted Aug 29, 2008
1 Response
Bell Labs Kills Fundamental Physics Research
"Alcatel-Lucent, the parent company of Bell Labs, is pulling out of basic science, material physics and semiconductor research and will instead be focusing on more immediately marketable areas such as networking, high-speed electronics, wireless, ...more
Posted Aug 29, 2008
Discuss
Dead Banks Walking - John Mauldin
"What strikes me the most about impaired companies, whether they are automakers, airline companies, banks, brokers or GSE's, is that they seem to sing the same tune, or have the same pattern of behavior. This is how I have attempted in the past to ...more
Posted Aug 26, 2008
Discuss
The Great Consumer Crash of 2009
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself-Well...How did I get here?
And you may ask yourself
Where is ...more
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself-Well...How did I get here?
And you may ask yourself
Where is ...more
Posted Aug 26, 2008
2 Responses
Some Britons Too Unruly for Resorts in Europe - NYTimes.com
“They scream, they sing, they fall down, they take their clothes off, they cross-dress, they vomit,” Malia’s mayor, Konstantinos Lagoudakis, said in an interview.
Posted Aug 26, 2008
Discuss
Go Miniman Go!
GoMinimanGo.com is a celebration of the 30th Birthday of the LEGO® Miniman.
Posted Aug 26, 2008
Discuss
Doodaddy » Best iPhone applications for your preschooler
Handing your iPhone to a toddler is crazy, you say?
And I respond, “Why? It’s going to crash every half hour anyway!”
Posted Aug 26, 2008
Discuss
My Favorite iPhone/iPod Touch Apps [VIDEO]
"So a lot of people have been asking me to make another video like this for a while now so here it is. :)"
...more
Posted Aug 26, 2008
Discuss
Arrested for Protesting Inside A Government Security Zone
"Should you ask authority from your government in order to protest?" I think they already know the answer to that one in Beijing.
...more
Posted Aug 24, 2008
Discuss
Basic PR Wisdom for Startups | Techcrunch.uk
So as this terrible wet August / Summer ends and online battle re-commences once more, I thought I may as well have a stab at giving you some ideas about how to interact with a blog like this. I’m going to use as inspiration Jason Calacanis’ post on ...more
Posted Aug 23, 2008
7 Responses
Obama Names Rick Astley as Running Mate
Pumping his fists downward in a striking motion as he spoke, Mr. Obama continued, "you just got Rickrolled, America!"
While the title of "greatest prank ever" remains speculative, experts from the Guinness Book of World Records verified shortly ...more
Posted Aug 22, 2008
Discuss
Buffett: "Game is over" for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest mortgage finance companies, ``don't have any net worth,'' billionaire investor Warren Buffett said.
``The game is over,'' Buffett, the 77-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said in an interview ...more
Posted Aug 22, 2008
3 Responses
Reddit Takes a Breather
The alien has his crowbar out, and he's not happy.
Posted Aug 22, 2008
2 Responses
Wisconsin: Tough On Crime
The next time you forget to return a couple of library books (and ignore those annoying letters about the overdue status of said volumes), think of Heidi Dalibor. The Wisconsin woman, 20, was arrested earlier this month in connection with a pair of ...more
Posted Aug 21, 2008
Discuss
Analyst: Palm Needs a Savior, and Treo Pro Won't Cut It | Wired.com
Palm's buzzworthy Treo Pro is merely a flotation device for the troubled company as it readies its next smartphone, coming in 2009, an analyst says.
Since 2006, Palm has declined in U.S. market share each year. And it won't be the Treo Pro that
...more
Posted Aug 21, 2008
2 Responses
China Olympic Committee Busted by Google Cache?
'Much of the coverage regarding Kexin's age has only mentioned "allegations" of fraud, and the IOC has ignored the matter completely. I believe that these primary documents, issued by the Chinese state, directly available from China by clicking on ...more
Posted Aug 20, 2008
4 Responses
Kite Surfing Tropical Storm Fay
From the seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time department.
Posted Aug 19, 2008
Discuss
Война в Южной Осетии: 89 фотографий Аркадия Бабченко
The war in South Ossetia: 89 photographs by Arkadia Babchenko (warning: graphic content)
Posted Aug 18, 2008
Discuss
Tonsley Events | Operation Yelsnot
In the original "Operation Yelsnot", the challenge was laid down by the four Tonsley Events crew to attend the weirdest sporting event they could find over the course of a year from March to March in the year 2002/3. The judging of this was to be ...more
Posted Aug 18, 2008
Discuss
Building a Lunar Lander? Don't Forget the Paperwork.
"[The FAA] require a burn time waiver, a tethered flight waiver, and a permit for flying your vehicle. These overlap, but they are not the same. The example permit application that the FAA places up on their webpage is 75 pages long and omitts some ...more
Posted Aug 18, 2008
2 Responses
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline
Operated by British Petroleum, the BTC is the second longest oil pipeline in the world. This video follows the BTC as it winds its way across 249km of rugged, beautiful Georgian countryside, from the Azeri border to the Turkish border.
...more
Posted Aug 18, 2008
Discuss
FEC Says Political Blogs Exempt From Finance Restrictions - MediaPost
The Federal Election Commission has reaffirmed that online media outlets can advocate on behalf of particular candidates without falling subject to campaign finance restrictions.
Posted Aug 18, 2008
Discuss
Delicate blogging in the EU
"One of my colleagues warned me to be careful about my blogging.
She is a journalist advising on public information, public relations and the media. The EU can sack any specialist engaging in politics in the host country where they might be working, ...more
Posted Aug 14, 2008
Discuss
"Follow Spam" on Twitter
"I feel sorry for Twitter founder Ev Williams. The self-appointed A-listers who've flocked to his service are building an echo chamber worse than the blogosphere circa 1999. Today's pretend crisis: Williams has set an arbitrary limit that allows most ...more
Posted Aug 13, 2008
Discuss
LOST SOVEREIGNITY - New York Post
"Foreign money, which up to now has focused its attention on investing in iconic commercial real estate - like Barneys New York and the Chrysler Building - is now moving to scoop up tens of thousands of discounted foreclosed homes across the ...more
Posted Aug 11, 2008
4 Responses
Cheeky George Bush works up a sweat getting to know the women's volleyball team
As leader of the free world George Bush has a lot on his mind, not least the charms of his female volleyball and softball teams.
The U.S. president is in China for the Olympic games and has been spending his time getting to know the American ...more
Posted Aug 10, 2008
Discuss
Body Odor Number One Worry of Japanese Men
Japan's average population is aging at a rate faster than most other industrialized nations and with age, comes wisdom... and a few other things too. As if hard-working "salarymen" don't already have enough worries, now they have to deal with "old ...more
Posted Aug 06, 2008
Discuss
When Cupcakes Turn Deadly
A man choked to death during an ‘impromptu’ fairy cake eating contest. He fit five in his mouth before choking. He was also 1 1/2 times past the drinking and driving limit in South Wales where the incident took place.
Posted Aug 06, 2008
Discuss
HillBilly Hotdogs
West Virginia: home of the double-wide burger and the "Homewrecker" hot dog (nearly 2 kilos). And a website that will make your eyes burn. What's not to love?
Posted Aug 06, 2008
Discuss
An Innocent Abroad - Social Networking in the non-Anglophone World
The Internet suggests a new map of the world, with borders redrawn along language lines. Over here — meaning here, in this article, in this newspaper, and for at least a light-year in every direction — we have the Anglosphere.
Here, ...more
Here, ...more
Posted Aug 05, 2008
Discuss
Galactic Empire Cloning Stormtroopers in Lego Factory
If you ever wondered where the Galactic Empire gets all those stormtroopers, look no further than the Lego factory in Denmark: Gizmodo's exclusive video about how the iconic mini-figure gets its characteristic evil look after getting out of the mold ...more
Posted Aug 05, 2008
1 Response
Olympic Baseball's Wacky New 11th Inning Rule
"Each team’s at-bat in the 11th inning and beyond will begin with runners on first and second bases. Teams may start the 11th at any point in their batting order under format changes announced Friday by the International Baseball Federation and ...more
Posted Aug 05, 2008
Discuss
A-Rod isn’t the only Yankee Madonna has had her eyes on?
Say it ain't so, Joe.
Posted Aug 05, 2008
Discuss
Google's Senior Copyright Counsel Takes Down Personal Blog
"It is profoundly depressing, after 26 years full-time in a field I love, to be a constant voice of dissent. I have tried various ways to leaven this state of affairs with positive postings, much like television news shows that experiment with "happy ...more
Posted Aug 05, 2008
1 Response
Footnote.com: Historical documents and the people who love them
Footnote.com is a place where original historical documents are combined with social networking in order to create a truly unique experience involving the stories of our past.
The Footnote.com collections feature documents, most never before ...more
Posted Aug 04, 2008
Discuss
Charles Schulz's Watchmen
22-Year-Old artist Evan Shaner wondered what it would be like if Charlie Brown cartoonist Charles Schulz created the Watchmen.
Posted Aug 03, 2008
Discuss
Say I'm Inside the Large Hadron Collider and It's Revving Up. Should I Be Concerned?
Well, it's never a great idea to stand next to a machine that could create black holes, but the magnets that steer the proton beams around the planet's most powerful particle accelerator would probably spare you from excess radiation. Then again, ...more
Posted Aug 03, 2008
Discuss
"Pelosi Politburo" turns out the lights of Congress and goes on vacation; GOP keeps talking
They also turned off the microphones, forcing a little improvisation. "Republicans can thank Shadegg for turning on the microphones the first time. Apparently, the fiesty Arizona conservative started typing random codes into the chamber's public ...more
Posted Aug 01, 2008
2 Responses
Guinea pig festival in Peru
An Andean woman holds a 'cuy' or guinea pig dressed as a miner during a fashion show at a guinea pig festival in Huacho, Peru
Posted Aug 01, 2008
Discuss
Google Acquires Omnisio To Spice Up YouTube
Google has acquired Atherton, CA based startup Omnisio, the companies are announcing this afternoon. Omnisio, which is a Y Combinator company, first demo’d to us in early March 2008, and it launched later that month. The price is not being disclosed, ...more
Posted Jul 31, 2008
2 Responses
Methylene Blue: Miracle Alzheimer's drug?
What's most impressive from the preliminary details, is that the drug seemed to both slow or even stop cognitive decline in some cases, as well as eliminating the decline in blood flow in the areas usually most affected by the disease suggesting that ...more
Posted Jul 30, 2008
2 Responses
Miley Cyrus, MENSA Member [April Winchell]
"Billy Ray needs to spend less time combing Just For Men through his soul patch and more time in the basement, where his meal ticket is doing beer bongs with a 30 year old."
Posted Jul 29, 2008
4 Responses
Blogging’s Glass Ceiling - NYTimes.com
Last weekend, about a thousand bloggers, almost all without the Y chromosome, attended the annual BlogHer conference, which began in 2005 to help female bloggers gain exposure. It has since evolved into a corporate-sponsored Oprah-inflected version ...more
Posted Jul 28, 2008
Discuss
Live Viewing of the August 1st Solar Eclipse
"Celebrate a Total Solar Eclipse from China without leaving New Hampshire. In addition to regular hours, the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium will be open from 6-8:30 AM on Friday, August 1. View the eclipse through a live feed from China on our large ...more
Posted Jul 27, 2008
1 Response
Ernst Thälmann Island
East Germany's own little piece of tropical paradise.
Posted Jul 25, 2008
Discuss
A-Rod Retains William Morris Agency. Good luck to you, William Morris.
Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees is banking on the William Morris Agency LLC to improve his image and boost sponsorship income from companies that are concerned about his off-field profile.
Posted Jul 22, 2008
Discuss
Bulgaria and Europe
Funny little cartoon contrasting BG and the (rest of the) EU :)
Posted Jul 18, 2008
Discuss
Lake Bluff man declares his home a church, gets tax break -- chicagotribune.com
Michael told state officials last month that he began his North Shore congregation more than a year ago after he got a pastor's degree from an online religious site.
While only a handful of close friends and family attend the church, Michael opened ...more
Posted Jul 18, 2008
Discuss
How Strong Is the U.S. Consumer?
A resident of Paris, Hong Kong, or Riyadh can make a purchase on a U.S. e-commerce site (say, Amazon.com or Apple.com) and it may show up in the U.S. retail sales data.
Consider Blue Nile, the Seattle-based online jewelry retailer. Its ...more
Posted Jul 18, 2008
2 Responses
Law Blog - WSJ.com : Covington Partner Demonstrates Treatment of Detainees
Remes continued: “At the press conference in Yemen — this is a society where the rule of morality is so strict — I wanted to drive home the degree of humiliation that these searches cause by illustrating a typical body search. The physical abuse they ...more
Posted Jul 18, 2008
1 Response
Here is the ‘WATCHMAN’ TRAILER! - GeekTyrant
I found The New ‘Watchman’ Trailer on youtube! Holy crap this movie is going to be amazing! I honestly can’t belive how amazing this movie is going to be! The Geek blood is really pumping now! My head is spinning! The greatest Graphic Novel ever is ...more
Posted Jul 17, 2008
3 Responses
Yankee Stadium: For Sale, Bit By Bit
The team will sell pieces of Yankee Stadium before the 85- year-old ballpark is torn down. The blue plastic seats alone could generate more than $20 million, according to sports memorabilia experts.
Posted Jul 17, 2008
2 Responses
How Many Bumper Stickers Make a Bad Driver?
Driving a car can be depersonalizing. That’s why drivers use bumper stickers, bobble-heads, fish brake lights, racing stripes, etc. to show others on the road their personalities.
Posted Jul 17, 2008
Discuss
Market Manipulation Writ Large: Ugly Times Call For Ugly Interventions?
Christopher Cox told the Senate Banking Committee that the SEC will issue an order today imposing a ``preborrower requirement'' on short sales in the mortgage-financing companies and Wall Street firms. The requirement would prohibit the practice ...more
Posted Jul 15, 2008
Discuss
Internet Famous: Julia Allison and the Secrets of Self-Promotion
Allison is the latest, and perhaps purest, iteration of the Warholian ideal: someone who is famous for being famous. Like graffiti writers who turned their signatures into wild-style gallery pieces, she has made the process of self-promotion into its ...more
Posted Jul 15, 2008
6 Responses
Obama slams Muslim portrayal - Mike Allen - Politico.com
Barack Obama's campaign is condemning as “tasteless and offensive” a New Yorker magazine cover that depicts Obama in a turban, fist-bumping his gun-slinging wife.
An American flag burns in their fireplace.
Posted Jul 14, 2008
1 Response
"Active SETI" : Shouting at the cosmos
Recently, several groups, ranging from radio astronomers in Argentina and Russia all the way to the web advertising site Craig's List, have declared that they intend to commence broadcasting high-intensity Messages to ETI... or METI... an endeavor ...more
Posted Jul 13, 2008
1 Response
Attack of the Photoshopped Missiles
Iran's propagandists aren't only ones who can photoshop a missile launch. We know how to do that on the intertubes, too. Here's an updated sample...
Posted Jul 13, 2008
Discuss
Spinochordodes tellinii, the mind control parasite
Once mature, S. tellinii needs to return to water to complete its life cycle. To do this, the Gordian worm infects the cricket’s mind, and forces it to commit suicide. Little is known about how the worm achieves this, but French scientists recently ...more
Posted Jul 13, 2008
Discuss
Dentist Accused Of Losing Tools Down Patient's Throat .. Twice .. Before Death
During the procedure, Greer said Meyers dropped a medical screwdriver down her father's throat. She said it took a colonoscopy to have the screwdriver removed from his large intestine. Then, in May of 2007, despite his daughter's concerns, Gaal ...more
Posted Jul 12, 2008
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Hillsborough Balloon Festival and Fair - Hillsborough, NH
In addition to the original events and entertainment, each year new attractions are added. New in 2008, an old fashioned Fireman's Muster on Sunday afternoon, July 13. Other events added over time continue to be popular including 4x4 truck and ...more
Posted Jul 11, 2008
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WBZ Video: Lightning Passes Through NH Woman’s Nose Ring
A New Hampshire woman is feeling pretty lucky after a lightning strike entered her body and apparently exited through her nose ring.
Posted Jul 11, 2008
1 Response
Why the global financial system is about to collapse
The global financial system is about to collapse because the U.S. dollar is about to collapse.
The U.S. dollar is about to collapse because of a simple economic fact that no one has the power to change or conceal.
The fact is that the ...more
Posted Jul 10, 2008
1 Response
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Insolvent; Await Government Bailout
Fannie Mae paid a record yield relative to Treasuries on the sale of $3 billion in two-year notes yesterday amid concern the biggest provider of financing for U.S. home loans won't have enough capital to weather the worst housing slump since the ...more
Posted Jul 10, 2008
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Iran preparing EMP Threat?
The radical Shiite regime has conducted successful tests to determine if its Shahab-3 ballistic missiles, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, can be detonated by a remote-control device while still in high-altitude flight, Graham said in his ...more
Posted Jul 10, 2008
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Spying on the World's Largest Power Utility
Christian Kunze pays French farmers to install camouflaged, shoebox-sized ``power stalkers'' in fields near nuclear stations owned by Electricite de France SA, collecting data the world's biggest utility says is a secret.
His company, ...more
His company, ...more
Posted Jul 10, 2008
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Excuse Me, Do You Work Here? No, I Just Need to Fold Clothes
Legions of retail grads have spent countless hours neatly folding T-shirts and jeans and stacking them on tables and shelves. Now, their peculiar idea of perfection is straining marriages and leading to bizarre behavior ranging from buying clothes ...more
Posted Jul 10, 2008
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Water Found on the Moon
In a study published today in Nature, researchers led by Brown University geologist Alberto Saal found evidence of water molecules in pebbles retrieved by NASA's Apollo missions.
The findings point to the existence of water deep beneath the
...more
Posted Jul 10, 2008
2 Responses
Eleven Months and a Hundred Yards Short of Citizenship
Because Senator John McCain was not a citizen at birth, he is not a "natural born Citizen" and thus is not "eligible to the Office of President" under the Constitution. Senator McCain was born in 1936 in the Canal Zone to U.S. citizen parents. ...more
Posted Jul 10, 2008
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Iran test-fires missiles in Persian Gulf -- AP
Footage showed at least six missiles firing simultaneously, and said the barrage included a new version of the Shahab-3 missile, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead.
Posted Jul 09, 2008
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Bacon mania
Anthony Bourdain has called bacon the "gateway protein" for its astounding ability to lure vegetarians back to the carnivorous fold, and for me, the bacon bra proved something of a gateway as well. It was through links to the bacon bra that I ...more
Posted Jul 08, 2008
2 Responses
Has modern life killed the semicolon? - By Paul Collins - Slate Magazine
The semicolon has spent the last century as a fussbudget mark. Somerset Maugham and George Orwell disdained it; Kurt Vonnegut once informed a Tufts University crowd that "All [semicolons] do is show that you've been to college." New York mayor ...more
Posted Jul 08, 2008
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NBC's Olympic-Sized Media Laboratory
NBC relies on Nielsen Media Research for a count of how many people are watching the Olympics on their TVs at home, but there is no existing research tool that pulls together all the different types of exposure, Wurtzel said. With the help of outside ...more
Posted Jul 08, 2008
1 Response
Jonathan Zittrain on The Colbert Report
Good chaos, the Internet as a mosh pit of routers, .. and a plug for Firefox 3? I can't stand the truthiness!
Posted Jul 08, 2008
1 Response
Simpson's paradox
In both 1995 and 1996, David Justice had a higher batting average than Derek Jeter; however, when the two years are combined, Jeter shows a higher batting average than Justice. The stats don't lie!
Posted Jul 07, 2008
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Yahoo’s Next (Real) Challenge: July 22 Q2 Earnings Report
"It is highly unlikely Yahoo leadership will blow the quarter. Or–more to the point–they simply cannot, especially given all the unending turmoil that has engulfed the company. And, in fact, top execs have been working to avoid that possibility, ...more
Posted Jul 07, 2008
2 Responses
Let's Tell the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Where to Go
"The deadline looms for interested parties to respond to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's request for comments about regulating prediction markets ("event markets" in the CFTC's usage)."
Posted Jul 07, 2008
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The Latest Configuration of the Altair Lunar Lander
NASA sources say that Altair is designed to carry big cargoes to a lunar base. The lander performs its own Lunar Orbit Injection burn so that it can reach the Moon without the manned Orion. Altair would not drop a stage on descent (which would save ...more
Posted Jul 04, 2008
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Democracy! Whiskey! Sexy!
In the giddy spirit of the day, nothing could quite top the wish list bellowed out by one man in the throng of people greeting American troops from the 101st Airborne Division who marched into town today.
What, the man was asked, did he hope to see ...more
Posted Jul 04, 2008
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A-Rod: He's Out at Home! -- New York Post
Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez's marriage is kaput, sources told The Post.
A-Rod's wife, Cynthia, has been shacked up with rocker Lenny Kravitz in Paris.
Posted Jul 03, 2008
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Fr Sergei Rybko Plays the Drums at a Rock Festival in Perm « Voices from Russia
Hegumen Sergei Rybko, rector of St Sergius parish in Bibirevo, who preaches amongst rockers, hippies, bikers, and counterculture youth, played the drums at the opening of a rock festival at the abandoned Bakharevka airdrome in Perm. Accompanying him, ...more
Posted Jul 02, 2008
